Photog Has Giants Instagram Spread in SI

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The only thing hotter than Melky Cabrera's bat these days is the iPhone-photo service Instagram. And some photogs -- including Brad Mangin of the Bay Area -- have actually been using Instagram to take pictures of Melky's bat.

And it's landed him a spot in the upcoming Sports Illustrated. The first few pages of the weekly magazine usually feature splashy photos; this week, as first reported by Mashable and later confirmed by Mangin himself, they'll feature Mangin's Instagram pics, most of which are of Giants players.

"This week’s Leading Off reflects the ‘socialization’ of photojournalism,” McDonell told Mashable. “Great pictures, with intimate access to the MLB, shared with Instagram.”

After Mashable leaked the news, Mangin took to his own website to discuss the making of the SI photo feature. Mangin uses his iPhone 4S and a slew of apps -- Instagram, Dynamic Light, Snapseed (like Photoshop for Apple products), Camera+, and Photoshelter -- in order to create pictures like the ones of Melky (left) and Tim Lincecum (right).